PSPCA spokesperson Wendy Morano says several families, including children, were visiting a park near the 5600 Block of Tacony Street on Wednesday evening when they saw the results of a gruesome act of animal abuse and called the SPCA abuse hotline.

“Officers responded and, when on-sight investigating, they found a dog that was deceased, hanging from a tree. It had a stick lodged in its throat,” Morano said.

SPCA officials say it appears the animal had been hanging from the tree for several days.

“To see any animal hung up like that and have that done to it is a little sick,” George Bengal of the SPCA said.

Morano says SPCA investigators plan to find the perpetrators of the crime and charge them to the fullest extent of the law.

“We will continue to talk to witnesses and investigate the scene. Our goal really is to identify the perpetrators and charge them to the full extent of the law,” Morano said. “Obviously they are facing cruelty charges.”

A necropsy, the equivalent of a human autopsy, will be conducted Thursday to determine the animal’s cause of death.

If you have any information about this case, you are urged to call the 24-hour SPCA hotline at 1-866-601-SPCA, or 1-866-601-7722.